Team Herald
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PONDA: Top performances from Soham Khandeparkar, Owais Tahasildar, Shubham Swami, Rutav Kanabar and Yousuf Shaikh lit up the qualification rounds of Anil Paiginkar Memorial State Badminton Ranking Tournament for Seniors and Veterans organised by Ponda Shuttlers under the aegis of Goa Badminton Association at the Badminton Hall, here, on Friday.
Soham eased past Niraj Humraskar 15-8, 15-9, while Owais was ruthless against Pratyush Patil, winning 15-1, 15-3. Shubham defeated Vihaan Naik 15-9, 15-6, Yousuf overcame Sarvadnya Khandeparkar 15-12, 15-5, while Rutav Kanabar edged past Siddharth Hazra in a thrilling 13-15, 15-4, 18-16 to move ahead.
Joining them in the next round was Arjun Rehani, a recent transfer to Goa’s CAG office and a India-ranked player, who dispatched Sujal Tirodkar 15-1, 15-8.
Other winners in the men’s singles qualifiers included Parth Joshi who beat Mihir Desai 15-10, 12-15, 15-9; and Devansh Sakpal who outplayed Viveknath Gawas 15-5, 15-7.
In the men's doubles qualifications, Arjun Rehani and Ayaan Shaikh defeated Kamesh Naik and Pratyush Patil 15-2, 15-8, while Owais Tahasildar and Sahil Sayed overcame Krishnaraj and Viraj Shriwant 16-14, 15-12.
Other top pairs progressing included Sushil Nayak/Yash Kunkalienkar, Kapil/Sandip Kanji, Kewal/Sunny Sawant, Arjun Bhagat/Parth Joshi, and Mayank Raj/Shaheen CK.